Unnatural Origins
by kakashiclone1120
Summary: In Kusagakure, beauty is everywhere around you, but all is not what it seems. Now, a young genin named Hei becomes the rift between the eternal peace of his village and it's complete destruction.
1. Chapter 1

Hidy ho dere

Well guys, this is my lovechild with dateless friday nights. At the time, I tried as hard as I knew how to try and write a good story with lots of appeal to it. When and if you review, I want no holds barred. I want and need strong literary criticism on this, and if you could reach down into your hearts to do it, I would be eternally greatful. I'll evenaccept your opionionsand thoughts on my ideas with open arms.So I humbly ask all of you to READ AND REVIEW! Thanks.

I don't own Naruto. I own my oc's. But I'd trade em in a heartbeat.

* * *

The humble Kusagakure village was, if nothing else, a beautiful sight to behold. Upon every wall grew thick, vibrant, green ivies that clung to the walls and even were known to envelope buildings completely. Right now it was fall, a time of decline among the flora of the region. While the ivies that the town was known for didn't recede, most of the trees began to turn light brownish and golden colors. The golden grasslands would become stiff twigs sticking out of the ground, looking like wooden memorials that numbered in the millions.

Fall would only precede winter however, where a blanket of snow would cover the village as gently as possible. The lights would be hung and people would sit in the streets for hours doing nothing more than talking to other people for no other reason than just wishing to be out, despite the colder weather. Winter was a time of human interaction and kindness. Everything seemed to get slower and happier in the winter.

Spring came in after winter, replacing it swiftly and quickly. The spring was a time for festival. The green ivies that covered each and every building and monument would suddenly explode in colorful flowers. Laughter would fill the streets for a good majority of the day, and the murmur of voices could be heard deep into the night. Spring was a season completely dedicated to happiness. During spring, problems melted away until some other time.

Summer was like spring in that it was a happy time, but more of that happiness was put into the work that needed to be done. People kept their jobs all year, but it wasn't until summer that these jobs got a more took a more serious role. The reasoning behind this was that so much of Kusagakure's life revolved around holiday, but the work that needed to be done couldn't take a back seat all year round. Summer was a time of productivity.

That was what Kusagakure was in only so many words. It was a small village of breathtaking beauty, a small ninja academy, and few problems. To the few that lived there, or had even had the opportunity to see it, it was the definition of paradise. The shinobi of the village were often known to show an undying loyalty to their country, and they hid their secrets extremely well.

>>>>> 

"Okay class, its time for your graduation test." Said a teacher to the classof young shinobi, all eager to riseup in the ranks for many various reasons"Your test is to make three doppelgangers of yourselves. Now come up when I call your names."

The room was a greenhouse. Lush grasses grew underfoot and ivies with large colorful flowers in a rainbow of colors creeped up the walls and ceiling. Each studen sat on large flat rocks on the ground rather than desks. Here, as with every other place in Kusagakure, one felt serene and complete. It was a place where nature filled in the empty spots in your soul. Of course, it was nothing special though, and even not really all that extravagant compared to other gardens and buildings in the small village.

The graduation test was to create three ordinary bunshins, one of the more difficult of basic genin skills needed to become a full-fledged shinobi. The students anxiously waited at their seats for their name to be called and they would stand and be measured.

The test went on without incident until a boy named Hei came to the front of the class with a determined grin plastered on his face. Half of the students didn't even know who he was, or that he was in their class. Normally, Hei was never called to the front to demonstrate anything. He was ominous in his own sense, but gave off an aura of kindness.

Hei was a boy of average height with dark green hair, wearing an oversized green t-shirt and khaki cargo pants. He wasn't special in any way that anybody knew of. He wasn't especially strong or smart. He wasn't great at ninjutsu. He usually came up in last place in his class. The townspeople brought him up in their daily gossip frequently though. As far as anyone knew, he didn't have parents, and how he came to be was a complete mystery. He didn't have any friends because of his low status in his class and in society, but everyone still met him with a smile. He was almost like the village pet that nobody wanted to take responsibility for.

Said unwanted dog stood with his feet apart, his face steeled in determination. He closed his eyes briefly, setting his mind right for the task ahead of him. In a flash of movement, he put his hands together in a seal. Blue chakra began to surge around him for a second, causing everyone to move just a bit further away. For a few seconds, the flowers and plants of the room started shaking and moving, in some instances growing far beyond their natural capabilities.

"Sorry sensei…" Hei said, dropping suddenly to one knee completely out of breath "Sometimes I can't control how much I use…"

Slowly, the plants stopped moving, as if calmed out of a fright. As stares focused themselves on his weakened figure, Hei blacked out completely, his mind to a peaceful black oblivion. Calmly and quietly, the teacher for that class quickly examined him and rushed him off to the school medic.

>>>>> 

"Well…" Hei said anxiously as he sat in front of the kusakage himself for reasons he didn't really understand "Did I pass the test? Am I a ninja now?"

"Don't worry, you passed." The kusakage said with a warm smile. He was a gargantuan man, towering over most, with long white hair that fell down to his mid back and was tied into a ponytail. He wore the traditional kusakage robes adorned with various flowers here and there. "But you should know that whatever jutsu you performed in that classroom goes beyond any explanation we have been able to procure. You scared alot of people today"

"But I would never hurt anybody of Kusagakure! You don't have to worry about me!" Hei said proudly with a smile. He truly was a patriot at heart.

"I know you wouldn't…but many people are afraid of things they don't understand…" The kusakage continued, his face becoming less cheery and more serious "You are already an oddity of the village, but now you exhibit an impressive show of power after being last in your class for so long."

"So they're afraid of me because they don't understand me?" Hei repeated rhetorically,using a child's logic"That doesn't make much sense to me."

"I know it doesn't, but that's precisely what makes you a good person." The kusakage said to him warmly "I'm going to place you in a cell with a very special instructor to keep an eye on you. If I could, I would just tell the people that your little display didn't happen, but it did and they know it. The people are going to need to know how your training is going so they don't get too scared. Know that I personally have nothing against you and think that you'll do quite well as a ninja."

"Thank you kusakage sama." Hei said with a bow "I think I understand what you're saying. I'll try my hardest to be the best ninja possible!"

Hei left the kusakage's office to go and meet whoever his new sensei would be. As he left, the Kusakage slumped down into his chair with his old age starting to show through. He seemed to be very tired, but anybody who knew him would have known better. The Kusakage had just made a very important decision.

"Kusakage sama, is that really the boy the records foretold of?" One of the shinobi who kept a constant guard by the Kusakage asked nervously.

"I'm afraid so." The Kusakage answered gravely "It really is a shame to do all this to such a nice young boy. If I could, I would surely let him live."

"Are you sure it has to be this way Kusakage sama?" The shinobi asked again "Isn't there some way around the spilling of innocent blood?"

"If our village is to continue, no…" The Kusakage answered with the tired sigh of a man who has to make difficult decisions "But sometimes I think that if our lives depend on spilling an innocent boy's blood, I'd rather die like we're all supposed to."


	2. Chapter 2

Greetings once more o' fair readers of mine.

Once again, i'm looking for the toughest criticism I can get here. Be mean if you have to. I can take it.

I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Upon entering the room, he found three sets of eyes staring at him blankly for just being there. He sheepishly sat down in a vacant seat that wasn't too close to anybody else's and listened as their new sensei resumed instructions.

The sensei they had been assigned was a beautiful young woman of medium height. She had sleek blond hair covering her left eye, while the other one was deep blue with her hitae-ate lopsidedly covered the half of her forehead that was visible. She wore what appeared to be a black sleeveless spandex shirt and black spandex pants, giving her a very streamlined appearance from under her jounin jacket. Her most defining feature however were the tattoos all over her arms. Instead of being pictures, they seemed to be strange markings and lines that had some hidden significance.

"Okay everyone, I don't think we should stay here for our first meeting." The woman said with a smile "Everybody head up to the roof for your first mission briefing."

She suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving the three kids, total strangers to each other, in the room by themselves. Without any words, Hei and his new teammates walked up to the roof as they were instructed. So far it didn't seem to be going too bad.

The students walked up to the roof where latticearchways stood here and there covered in the same ivies that were predominant throughout the village. They found the woman standing over in one corner of the roof that seemed to be clear of the lattice walkways and sat themselves down in front of her.

"Now that we're all here, I want us to start by introducing ourselves. I'm Hoashi Yumi." The woman announced with a smile "I enjoy going out dancing and painting. I'm a jounin for a living but I do a lot of things to make extra money on the side. You go next."

"I'm Mirei Hitomi." Said a girl with shoulder length red hair and wore her hitae-ate around her neck. She was a little short and wore a black tank top with a fishnet shirt over it and black skirt to go with it. "I enjoy training and things that have natural beauty. I don't like spending time around most people but my hobbies include camping and walking."

"That's lovely." Yumi said with a smile as she moved on to Hei "Okay, you with the green hair. Tell us about yourself."

"My name is Hei." Hei announced proudly, puffing his chest out as if to make it clear "I enjoy sitting in my apartment, sleeping and eating. I dislike people who are scared of me even though they don't know anything about me. I want to find out why I'm not like everybody else. For instance, I want to find out why I can't channel chakra like the other kids, and why I don't have any parents. I hope to make some friends one day and become the greatest ninja I could possibly be."

"That's a very nice dream Hei." Yumi said with what had become her trademark warm smile "Now you. What do you like?"

"My name is Shigeru Katsuki!" a bubbly girl with long white hair and purple eyes wearing a tight long sleeve white shirt and gray pants who wore her headband across her forehead normally "I like ice cream, and bunnies, and squirrels, and flowers, and kool-aid, and rice, and tea, and birds, and…well I just like everything. I have a ton of hobbies, and a lot of dreams."

"Well, that's very sweet." Yumi said, putting her hands behind her back and stood on her toes for a second before coming back to the ground "Since you all seem like such a nice group, I'll give you the choice. We can go on our first mission either today or tomorrow."

"I say we go ahead and do the mission today." Hei said, deciding it was best to take action. "If we start today, we have one extra mission under our belts."

"I agree." Hitomi agreed quietly "But it is always good to remember that haste creates waste. It is good to want to get things done, but being brash only leads to ruin."

"I think missions are swell!" Katsuki said, bouncing up and down happily and causing everyone else to look at her for a second.

"Well, if that's what you choose, you all can come with me for your very first mission." Yumi said jumping from the current rooftop they were on to the next one.

Ten minutes later, they all stood in what appeared to be a hanging garden filled with flowers and vines of all kinds. Lattice panels covered with vines and bright exotic flowers made up a beautiful maze that extended further and higher than they could see from their perspective.

"This is the hanging maze." Yumi said with a smile that was quickly becoming her signature facial feature"Your first mission is to each find a sacred flower in the maze and bring it to the top. Along the way, I shall be impeding your process. If any of you does not get the flower within the allotted time limit, I have full authority to destroy you mercilessly."

"What the hell!" Hei exclaimed, taking a quick step back "How are we supposed to get the flowers with a jounin stopping us? It can't possibly be done!"

"Well, it's either take the test or never excel as a ninja." Yumi said, her bright smile never fading a bit"Only the strongest survive, even in this utopia. If you can't handle it you must not be allowed to proceed. Now, you have until eight o'clock tonight. Good luck to all of you."

With a puff of smoke Yumi vanished, leaving the remaining members of the team frightened out of their wits. Slowly, Hei took the first step towards the maze, boldly trying to set the pace for everyone else, despite the fact that he was just as scared as they were.

"Wait." Hitomi said shortly as he began to make his way in "Rushing in to this situation can only bring us down. Before we go in, we need some sort of game plan."

"What kind of a plan could help us against Yumi sense?" Katsuki said, tears welling up in her eyes "I don't think we stand a chance."

"If we all split up, we might have a better chance of getting to the flowers." Hei said, trying his best to be helpful "We could all just meet each other at the top."

"What would happen if one of us would run into Yumi sensei individually?" Hitomi asked in the same monotone "We stand a better chance of surviving if we all stick together."

"But what if we all don't get enough flowers in time and have to choose one of us to fall behind?" Katsuki asked, almost not wanting an answer.

"We decide that when the time comes, but for right now, concentrate on getting flowers and living." Hitomi said, walking casually into the maze with Hei and Katsuki following her.


	3. Chapter 3

Well, this is chapter three.

I tried my best to make a unique test that showcased their abilities without making them seem too powerful. I'm also trying to make all of the characters stand out, while at the same time keeping an emphasis on Hei.

I don't own Naruto.

* * *

If nothing else it was a beautiful maze. If they had to die, there would be no better place to do so. There wasn't much conversation as they made their way through the maze. Putting your life on the line for something was a lot to swallow in such a short amount of time. The other ninja of the village must be very strong if they each passed a test like this.

"How do all of these flowers grow like this?"Katsuki asked quietly, her eyes wide with complete and utter wonderment, even having grown up in a village of beauty and wonder.

"I'm sure there's sombody who comes in and waters them every now and then." Hei said, for some reason not all that shocked ag seeing something so beautiful as what could be his grave. In fact, this place felt more like home than any other place he had ever lived in. It was a strange tingling in the back of his head that sent a sensation of warmth and comfort throughout his body as if he were slowly being filled with warm water.

"That's neither here nor there." Hitomi said shortly, obviously on edge due to their current predicament. It seemed to Hei that any sort of pressure caused her to become angry and nervous. He could only guess that there was something in her past that caused her temperment to change when faced with difficulty. He would have to ask her about it later when there wasn't any chance of them dying. "What we have to focus on is getting three of those flowers before the time runs out."

"I'm sure it won't be that hard." Hei said calmly, his hands moving to cradle the back of his head comfortably "It's just a few flowers in a multiplex maze with a jounin on our heels the whole way. Nothin to it but to do it."

Without any warning whatsoever, Hitomi grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down to eye level with her. Hei's gaze met fire, startling him considerably. Clearly he had pushed the wrong nerve inadvertently. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a balled up fist shaking dangerously, poised to strike at any moment. He didn't make any move whatsoever to try and stop his frantic teammate from clocking him one. He only stared deeper into her angry eyes in an attempt to understand as best he could.

"Don't be so nonchalant about this...please." Hitomi managed to say through her anger. Slowly she let him go and unclenched her fist.

"I'll do my best." Hei said with a kind smile, laying a hand gently on her shoulder to comfort her. He held no ill will whatsoever, assuming that it was his own fault that he had angered her in the first place.

"You two scared me!" Katsuki interjected almost angrily, putting a hand on both of their shoulders. In the heat of the moment, they had almost completely forgotten about the bright young kunoichi that accompanied them. "Just tell me that we're all friends again and let's get going!"

The odd pair could only smile in answer as they continued on quietly.

>>>>> 

The winding corridors weaved themselves in and out of each other and often times led to nothing at all. It was five o'clock by the time they finally stumbled into a large room with a small pond inside that bubbled lightly from its source underground. In the center of the pond floated a delicate looking red and orange flower that was no bigger than a clenched fist.

Hei carefully stepped toward the flower, looking out for their instructor, who could very well be hiding anywhere. While trying not to step into the pond, he reached across the clear water and over to the flower that sat lightly upon the surface.

"Hei! Watch out!" Katsuki cried suddenly, causing Hei to jump back as several kunai hit the ground right where he had been a split second ago.

Standing there serenely with three more kunai in her hand was Yumi, still smiling ever so sweetly at them. Without a word, she threw the three remaining kunai at Hei, who managed to retreat just enough to avoid the assault.

Hitomi came forward and threw her own shuriken at Yumi before flying in to attack. Yumi was off balance by the projectiles and had little time to react against the attack, but blocked the blows nonetheless, proving exactly what it meant to be a jounin.

In the background, Hei scooped up the flower and passed it to Katsuki before returning to the fray in an attempt to give Hitomi a quick break. He did, after all, make good marks in taijutsu during his academy days.

He flew forward with an outstretched fist at his sensei just as Hitomi fell back for her next assault. The smiling jounin easily caught his fist and threw him roughly to the ground without any hint of mercy.

In the meantime, Hitomi had completed a string of seals in quick procession.

"_TANGLING GRASS NO JUTSU" _Hitomi shouted at the top of her lungs. No sooner had she done so when the grass around Yumi's feet grew longer and wrapped tightly around her legs, all the way up to her knees.

"She's trapped for a while! Let's take the flower and go!" Hitomi said to her teammates sternly "There's no way we can beat her so this is the only chance we have!"

Hitomi backed off along with Hei and Katsumi and disappeared into the maze, trying to put as much distance between them and Yumi as possible. It seemed like each step took a little more breath after a near death experience. Their lungs were pumping something akin to insect repellant and every intake of air felt coldenough to freeze their lungs solid. Their bodies almost felt like they were resisting them. At long last they stopped for a breather.

"Hei…that was very brave of you…back there…" Hitomi said, completely out of breath from running for so long.

"You weren't to shabby…yourself…that was a great technique…you pulled…" Hei complimented in response.

"We still need… two more flowers though…" Katsumi panted heavily "but we only have…less than three hours to find them…and get to the top…"

"I say we should just…head to the top and see if we find any flowers…along the way." Hei said, standing up and beginning to catch his breath.

"At this point in time…we don't have much other choice." Hitomi said, her lungs refilling with air again.

"Then it's settled." Hei said, turning and walking down an especially colorful path "We have to do what we have to do, our lives be damned…"

Hitomi and Katsumi followed him quietly, each one walking in a slow deliberate pace. They knew that two of them would die, if not all of them. They were facing a highly experienced jounin. Yumi sensei was a killing machine by profession. It would be nothing to destroy three genin who couldn't make it through a simple test.

How do you accept your own death at such a young age? What does it take to see your life ending in front of you and continue on anyway? A thousand times they could have turned and fled, but they didn't. Not one of them could explain their reasons for pressing onward, but they did all the same. It was as if the pride, instincts, and ways of their ancestral shinobi were carrying them as if on autopilot through the winding maze up into the sky.

>>>>> 

They all calmly walked onto the top floor of the maze and gasped slightly at what they saw. They stood on only golden mist that floated gently around their feet, some unnatural lights illuminating the colors from underneath the layer of dense fog. Above them shone the stars in the sky, burning their lives away while the three genin watching could only look on in awe. This place was one fit for the gods themselves, and they were witness to it.

"This is a holy site among those of Kusagakure." Yumi said quietly from the other side of the roof with her arms behind her back and her same warm smile dominating her visage "It was built as a home for the gods, should they choose to accept it. For years, no one dared to enter here, for fear of punishment by higher beings. When people finally did creep back into their own creation, the site had been surely touched by the immortals. Instead of dying, these plants grew more and more beautiful with no help at all from the people. It was a miracle of sorts. Since then, only a few have ever seen this place. Know that it is a great honor to stand where you are right now."

"We have completed the mission to the best of our abilities." Hei said, holding out the flower in his flat palm for Yumi to see.

"I see that you only have one flower." Yumi said with a smile "Since you're holding it, I'll let you decide who lives and who dies. Do hurry up, I want to get home and watch my soaps."

Hei looked dumbstruck as he turned to Hitomi and Katsuki. Both of them looked pleadingly at him while he stared down at the red flower in his hand. He looked at each of their faces for a long time, and then at his own hands.

With a final glance at his teammates, Hei turned and walked calmly up to Yumi, the flower still in his hand. Yumi stood quietly with her hands behind her back. Hei stood before her for a long time before taking the flower and crushing it in his hand.

Each second passed as if it were a day and each heartbeat could be heard clearly in their throats.Perspiration formed on their foreheads and in the palms of their hands. Now they were all going to die, and there was nothing they could do about it.

"There is no way I can decide who's life is more important than another's." Hei said boldly as the petals floated down into the golden mists below him, dissapearing forever. "I choose an honorable death with my team over a cowardly life by myself. "

"What a brash decision." Yumi said with a smile, spinning around and kicking him across the side of the head hard enough to send him spinning back to Hitomi and Katsumi. "It looks like I'll have to fulfill my duties as a superior shinobi after all…"

Before any of the three children knew it, everything went completely black, a cold sinking feeling flooding over them soon. It took a long time for their minds to stop thinking about what was happening, but they did eventually. In the end, all fades to nothingness.


	4. Chapter 4

I don't really like this chapter. It seems to lack substance or something...I dunno. At any rate, I still had to write through it. Hope you enjoy.

I don't own Naruto

* * *

Hei had ceased thinking long ago. He floated blindly through absolutely nothing at all, never seeing, never feeling, never hearing. Everything he had once known was completely erased.

Quite suddenly, as if through the memory of a hazy dream, a bird chirped somewhere nearby. At first, the sound didn't register. If there was nothing, how could there be a bird in the general area? Slowly, his mind began to come back to work. There was something. He was alive. The bird was singing a song because it was morning. He had been asleep all night. He was just fine. All he would have to do would be to open his eyes to the sun and stand up. Somewhere in the back of his head, a voice screamed at him to wake up.

_GET UP! SEE THE SUN! MOVE YOUR LIMBS! COMMAND YOUR BODY TO WORK! STAND ON YOUR OWN TWO FEET AND LIVE AGAIN!_

At that second precisely, Hei's eyes snapped open quickly, taking in the light rather violently because his pupils hadn't adjusted enough yet. He jumped to his feet, moving all of his muscles in perfect harmony with each other. I quick intake of breath revitalized his senses and everything hit him suddenly. Taste, touch, smell, sight, and sound were all a symphony playing out of tune with each other, but steadily falling into a rhythm that was distinct but beautiful.

From out of nowhere, Hei found himself tackled into the ground by some laughing being. As he was spun around in the air, he recognized the laugher as Yumi's and looked down to see her smiling and laughing in delight while forcing him into a leaping dance in a field of tall yellow grasses.

"You passed!" She yelled happily as they spun around "You did so much better than I expected! You can't possibly understand how proud I am of you!"

"Y-Yumi sensei!" Hei exclaimed, getting his bearings finally and seeing her crying tears of happiness in front of him. Then he started to remember what she was saying "What do you mean I passed!"

"It's just like I said, you and your team pass the test!" Yumi shrieked in delight, dancing gaily back to the girls, who were just now coming around.

They all fell into a great pile of people who were either laughing happily or waking up from the deepest sleep imaginable. Yumi hugged them all tightly to her, happily crying while she spurted out random sentences proclaiming how proud she was of all of them.

"Yumi sensei, how could we pass, we didn't complete the mission?" Hitomi asked groggily as she realized what was going on.

"It wasn't about all of those stupid orders! It was about seeing if you all were worth teaching or not!" Yumi yelled happily as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "I put you through one of the toughest tests imaginable and you just breezed through it!"

"But what about the flowers and the maze and the story about the gods and the death threats!" Katsuki cried, barely able to finish her sentence in one breath.

"I set all that up." Yumi said, still smiling happily "I was testing your teamwork, your strength, your willpower, your bravery, and your personalities all at the same time. The test was designed for you to fail from the beginning. There was only one flower in the maze. Most of the other teams I put through the test all fought over the flower selfishly to try and extend their own pathetic lives, but you all did so much better!"

"Well why didn't we die then?" Hitomi asked curiously, the point of the exercise finally coming to her "You said you would kill us if we failed."

"Ah, I was just goofin on you!" Yumi said playfully "What kind of evil person would I be if I mercilessly slaughtered a bunch of helpless genin? Besides that, you had to summon enough will to wake yourselves up didn't you? That's good enough for me right there."

"So this means we're actually a real team now?" Hei asked excitedly as he looked at his teammates.

"That's right!" Yumi said, tackling them all again to the ground while laughing "We are officially team D of the village hidden in the grass!"

For the rest of the day, the four of them laughed together in the fields, not having a care in the world. Yumi's very caring personality had already gotten her attached to the three of them, including Hei, who looked like this was the happiest day of his life. For a second, her happiness vanished while she watched him. Her orders were still going to have to be carried out in as timely a manner possible. Quickly, she put a smile back on her face to mask her uncertainty about her mission concerning Hei.

"Okay, for our thirteenth mission, we'll be doing some garden work for a sweet old lady across town." Yumi said happily as she read the scroll aloud to her less than eager charges.

It had been almost two weeks since team D had passed Yumi's incredibly hard test. The colder weather was quickly moving upon them, a surefire sign that winter was quick on its way. Each day they met at the same koi pond in one of the larger gardens in the village to watch the fish, relax, and assess their mission.

"Yumisensei, I mean no disrespect, but are these missions we are doing really worth any real merit?" Hitomi asked rather seriously, like always. In the past two weeks, Hitomi had been declared the team strategist, always thinking ahead for the good of the team.

"Yeah, I mean these missions are nice, but they're not exactly a challenge. Shouldn't we be testing our skills already?" Hei asked, tacking his question on to Hitomi's question. Hei was the muscle of the group. He and Hitomi were usually the ones who would do any serious fighting, and even then, Hei would usually be the front man while Hitomi went in for the quick strikes while the opponent wasn't looking.

"Oh come on guys! These missions aren't bad. We're providing a valuable service to the community!" Katsuki said hyperactively as she picked up her garden trowel. Katsuki wasn't really suited for combat. She was training as a medic nin, but it took a long time to get to be very good with that. Right now she could only heal minor cuts and bruises. All the same, she would make a very useful addition to the team with proper training.

"You know, I think all of you are right, except for Katsuki. She's wrong." Yumi said, stretching herself out in the sunlight by the pond, basking in the gentle rays that accompanied a light breeze. "I'm ready for a change of pace. I'd like to get out of here for a little while and go somewhere different."

"You know, as our sensei, you're supposed to tell us 'You should be happy for the missions you can get!' and things like that." Hitomi said in her same calm and mostly monotone voice.

"I know, but I don't like these missions either! They're boring!" Yumi said, rolling over onto her stomach with a pout on her face.

"At least the missions here don't involve killing people! EEK!" Katsuki said, squealing in disgust at the thought of hurting people.

"You know, it's not that bad once you get good at it." Yumi said teasingly to Katsuki "I think you're just a chicken is what it is."

"I'm not a chicken!" Katsuki yelled in fake anger "You take it back this instant you big meanie head!"

"Okay now children, it's time to settle down." Hitomi chided sarcastically "Seriously, you'd think I'm the only adult here."

"You might be, just like I'm the only guy here." Hei complained. This type of banter went on a lot and he really didn't like listening to it. He wished for all the world he knew how to sleep with his eyes open.

"Don't complain too much now Hei san. At least we're not all ugly sweaty guys." Yumi said with a smile as she got up and stretched her arms playfully like a cat "I'll go and talk to the Kusakage about giving us some different missions. I'm sure we'll be out of the country in the next two days."

Hei waved goodbye to everyone as he followed the white cobblestone path out of the garden and back into the main city. It was odd that people who lived in such a beautiful village would ever want to leave. What on earth drove them to wish for something other than the perfection they already had?

As he walked on through the people who gave him plenty of leeway Hei mused about human curiosity. It was almost as if human beings could never be truly content with themselves or their surroundings. Why was the need to change all of the gods' creations so drastically?

After being lost in thought for what seemed like a few seconds, he found that his feet had carried him directly in front of his apartment door. Reaching into his pocket he turned took out the key and turned it in the knob. As soon as the door opened, he went inside and slept, dreaming of the mission he had been all but promised the next day.


	5. Chapter 5

Yo

Well, here's the next installment in this story. Not a whole lot to say. Hope you enjoy.

I don't own Naruto

* * *

"Kusakage sama, my genin humbly request a mission that might send them outside the village." Yumi said respectfully from her kneeling position in front of the powerful grass shadow.

"I knew they would soon." The Kusakage said with a grin "It is time we initiated the first part of our plan Yumi san."

"I shall carry out my orders as instructed Kusakage sama…" Yumi said with as little emotion as possible.

"Here." The Kusakage said, handing Yumi a pre-prepared scroll from out of his desk somewhere "You'll be going to thewater country. Everything has already been set up in advance. All you need to do is play your part and watch him."

"Yes Kusakage sama." Yumi said almost robotically as she took the scroll and headed left that accursed office.

The plan. It almost made her sick to her stomach to even think about it. As Yumi descended the stairs leading out of the Kusakage's tower several thoughts swam through her head. Why had she been chosen to assassinate Hei instead of somebody else? What set her abilities apart from the others? Furthermore, what kind of advantage would she have against the boy? That was probably what this mission was for. Gaining an upper hand against a boy.

Turning down the street, she began her trek to the meeting place. It was a cool day today, with a cold breeze coming from the north that heralded a change in the seasons once again. So beautiful a day shouldn't have been ruined by such a grave mission.

Yumi forced on her smile as she walked into the park. The cobblestone path led the way to the pond as always, while the trees above cast their shadows across the ground serenely.

"Yumi sensei!" Katsumi exclaimed in her usual exuberant greeting "Did we get that mission from Kusakage sama?

"We got it all right!" Yumi said, throwing them the scroll "It's a pretty damn good one too if I do say so myself. We're going to the water country!"

"Wow…" Hitomi said in slight disbelief while reading the scroll "It seems a town has come under attack and they want us to halt the enemy ninja forces."

"I know! This is going to be so exciting!" Yumi said, grabbing all of her charges around the shoulder and bringing them close to her "We'll probably get to fight some of the powerful mist shinobi!"

"You call that fun!" Katsuki exclaimed, pulling herself out of Yumi's grasp "I can't fight anybody!"

"You'd be surprised what people can do when they have to." Hitomi said coolly as she got up and straightened out her skirt.

"I don't know what's wrong with you two. I want to kick some serious ass." Hei said with a grin.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Yumi yelled, giving him a high five that nearly knocked him over "At least somebody has a clue how to have fun in this group!"

"I'm not saying that I'm not inclined to fight a few shinobi…but the mist nin are known for their relentlessness. They could prove annoying." Hitomi said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What's the big deal, they use water and we use plants! Water is our ally, naturally speaking!" Hei exclaimed with a chuckle.

"You've got that right!" Yumi chimed in, bending down to their eye level "Okay, now all of you go home and pack up for tomorrow. It's going to be a long trip."

Everyone headed home with a smile on their faces, assured an easy mission. Hitomi however was a bit more skeptical about the mission. Why would simple genin get such a dangerous mission that involved fighting shinobi? It was almost unheard of in the ninja world. She didn't let it worry her too much however. There had to be a perfectly logical explanation to everything.

>>>>> 

They next day, they started their mission with the same northern wind blowing through, only slightly more chilling than the day before. Good time was made over the terrain, which changed drastically as they traveled more and more. They went from lush grasslands to arid deserts to thick forests in nothing more than a few weeks.

For Hei, it was the greatest thing that could ever happen to him. Having Yumi as a sensei was really good for him. Her very caring personality made it seem like he had a family for the first time ever. Together they laughed and trained lightly in their off time at night. Yumi did most of the cooking because she was the only one who was any good at it. There was a strong bond between them, created in no small part by the ever-nurturing Yumi, who kept everybody in good spirits the whole time.

In the meantime, Yumi felt sick to her stomach anytime Hei smiled at her. Every kind word they exchanged made her want to take a kunai and kill herself with it. The truth was she truly did care for these kids in more ways than most jounin would. To her, they were more than a responsibility, and the thought of killing one of them was almost more than she could possibly bear.

"Yumi sensei, I can see the shore from here!" Katsuki cried from atop a cliff that overlooked a long beach with white sands and clear blue waters "Hooray! We're going to go on a boat ride!"

"Of course we're getting there by boat. There's no way we could make it any other way." Hitomi said condescendingly.

"Our only obstacle seems to be this cliff right here." Hei said, looking over the edge cautiously "It's quite a ways down and I don't see any stairs or gentle slopes nearby."

"You call this an obstacle!" Yumi said, looking over the side as well "Do you kids know how to use chakra to stick to surfaces even when upside down?"

"No. That's something you're supposed to teach us." Hitomi said, not liking where this was going at all.

"Well you're about to get a crash course. Hehe…crash course…I crack myself up." Yumi said, laughing at her own pun "Just concentrate chakra to your feet and you should be able to stick to the wall going down. If you find you can't stop, don't worry. I'll catch you when you get to the bottom."

With that, Yumi walked off of the edge, sailing through the air for a time until she latched her feet onto the rock face and started to slow down. By the time she got to the bottom, all she had to do was flip off the side and land neatly on the ground like an acrobat doing a simple cartwheel.

"Nice form…" Hei said as looked at Yumi waving at them down below "The only question is who's going next."

Before anybody could debate the idea further, Hitomi pushed Katsuki off the cliff with mild fascination as she screamed at the top of her lungs all the way down. Apparently the entire three seconds of instruction she had been given didn't really help her much because she didn't make any moves to cling to the wall.

"Well, that was cruel and slightly fun…" Hei said as Yumi caught Katsuki at the base of the cliff. "Now who goes next?"

"Take a wild guess." Hitomi said with her arms crossed.

"You?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Pushing you is more fun."

"So?"

"So what?"

"Ladies first you know."

"Ass."

"A little bit, yes."

"Fine, I'll go, but if I die, I want it written on my tombstone that I hate you." Hitomi said with a sigh, signaling her defeat.

"I'll carve it into the headstone myself." Hei said with a smile as he pushed her off the side.

Hitomi did much better than Katsuki. She tried to steady herself using chakra, but didn't feel to secure doing that so she just took a kunai and dug it into the wall. At the end of the cliff she jumped off just as Yumi had and landed on her feet next to Katsumi with a smug smile on her face.

Hei looked at the edge and fought down the urge to just walk away from this whole situation. He walked to the utmost edge and let his toes dangle over. With his last resolve, he allowed himself to fall over the edge.

He fell through the air without any real plan of what to do. When he realized that he didn't know how to live through this, his mind started to panic. A thousand thoughts raced through his head all at once before a single voice of reason called out to him.

_All you have to do is gather your strength and walk. Nothing can harm you if you believe in yourself._

Hei unthinkingly put his body into motion. He felt chakra coursing through his veins and into his feet and dug his soles into the bare rock. As soon as his feet touched something solid, blue chakra started glowing around them and left trails of sparks in the deep gouges his feet made as they tore through the solid stone.

In a flourish of movement, he sailed through the air gracefully and landed on crouching knees right next to a very surprised Hitomi. Standing up he looked over at his comrades and smiled weakly for a second before passing out and falling into the cool white sands.


End file.
